At the downstream end of rod mills the rolled wire rod is normally collected in coils which can be bound for storage or shipment. The coil-forming station can be located at the end of a heating treatment apparatus or line and it is a common practice to deliver the rolled wire rod to the coil-collecting station on a generally horizontal conveyor and in the form of overlapping turns or "rings" which, at the end of this conveyor, fall into an upwardly open coiling chamber, which can be cylindrical, so that turns collect on a surface at the bottom of this chamber, e.g. around a mandrel. The pattern with which the rolled wire rod is delivered via the conveyor, i.e. the overlapping of the turns, is referred to occasionally as a spencerian pattern.
Various configurations of such systems have been provided heretofore with the end of collecting the overlapping turns from the conveyor, usually after cooling, into coils. The manner in which the turns are cast off the conveyor and can be collected in the upright chamber will vary depending upon the conveyor speed, the wire rod diameter and their metallic structure. As a practical matter, the movements of the turns are nonuniform if they are not controlled so that some type of improved lateral movement of the turns is required if the turns are to properly line up and deposit in a uniform compact coil.
In one arrangement, guide elements are provided at the upper end of the coil-forming chamber and have arms or guide surfaces which are eccentric to the inner wail of the chamber (EP 583 099 B1). In another arrangement, a ring is provided which is rotatable eccentrically with respect to the axis of the chamber and is located as the central section of the chamber (EP 686 439 A1). DE 1 970 04 421 describes an arrangement wherein above the mouth of the coil-forming chamber, a funnel-shaped ring element is provided.
In EP 686 438 A1, transverse shifters are described which have convex bodies which are driven about vertical axes or axes inclined to the vertical and define an asymmetrical cross section. These bodies are located around a laterally-open section of the coil-forming chamber, have a common drive means and engage the descending turns or rings of the rolled wire rod.
All of these systems have drawbacks with respect to the positioning of the descending wire rod turns or rings.
One of these drawbacks is that the paths defined by the guide elements cannot be varied in accordance with needs of the system, i.e. the prior art arrangements defining absolute paths for the descending coils or turns.
However a variation in the path may be desirable or necessary for different characteristics of the rolled wire rod, such as changes in the composition of the steel and changes in the diameter of the rolled wire rod.
Furthermore, problems can arise in operation of the apparatus, for example, the predetermined maximum height of a coil may be exceeded, there may be a jamming of the tip of the wire rod against a surface in the coiling chamber, or the turns or rings of the wire rod may themselves become dislocated or jammed against one or more of the transverse shifting elements or at an opening in the chamber wall and it may be necessary to free up the jammed workpiece or otherwise have access to the interior of the coiling chamber. Prior systems have proved to be incapable of accommodating such maintenance or repair operations or make such maintaining operations difficult. Experience has shown that with conventional apparatus it is not easy to free-up the cross section through which the turns fall to form the coil, especially when the coil is to be formed of relatively thick wire which frequently requires less lateral control of the positions of the descending windings or rings.